This Is Rebel Radio!
by xXMethereaperXx
Summary: One band's struggle for fame and fortune. Do they possess the skills needed, or do they possess something stronger, and darker.
1. Welcome to the show

First of all, I hit a bit of writer's block with the other story i'm working on, sorry Bitter Strawberry!

So, to clear my head, I decided to write a kind of prequel/preview of another story I may be writing/re-doing.

Based on a field trip, my school took the seniors to navy pier in chicago, but me and the band ditched and went to a guitar store and had a kind of mini concert.

About the story, it's going to suck grammaticaly because I don't want to spend a lot of time on it.

Also, for those of you who know Meth and Nanette, congrats. For those of you who don't, Meth is a white bear with long black hair, Nanette is a white cat with red hair and is a foreign exchange student from france.

All song lyrics belong to me, so I can't be reported for using them, and they are protected by a creative commons liscense, so NO STEALING!

So without further ado, This Is Rebel Radio!

* * *

><p>It's seven thirty in the morning as the grumbling from the bus loaded with the seniors of Happy Tree High nearly fills to capacity. Today is the end of the year field trip to the big acorn, the nearest city to Happy Tree Town, and the least dangerous of the area.<p>

However, today won't turn out as a simple field trip, but a major breakthrough on the music scene as a blog promised all the listeners of the band, Sedated Titans. Well, the bus began pulling away from the school once the victims- I mean students, were all accounted for by Lumpy reading from the roster. Just to be safe, Sniffles double checked.

"Flippy?" asked the blue anteater without looking away from the clip board.

"Here," replied a tried voice from the back of the bus.

"Flaky?"

"Here,"

"Disco?"

"Here, baby,"

Sniffles looks up slightly, but returns his gaze to the paper with a sigh, " Giggles?"

"Here!"

"Meth?"

"Here,"

"Nanette?"

"Here,"

"Nutty?"

"Here, I'm Here!"

"I see you Nutty," replies Sniffles.

Sniffles nods to Lumpy who starts the bus and quickly pulls into the heavey traffic without looking, thus receiving a myriad of honks and hand gestures.

"Oh god, I can't wait until we get there! There should be a lot of shopping! Also, we have to meet up with Sandra, she said her school's going there too Also, we have to go find that little shop they were talking about on Musicman." Giggles nearly yelled to Nanette, being the only one with a full night's rest.

Nanette yawned, obviously missing her 'cat-nap' and replied with a wag of her tail, "What shop? Ma took the computer away."

"You haven't heard! The Sedated Titans are finally having a live show! They uploaded a new track their going to be playing!"

"Are you serious! They haven't even uploaded pictures of themselves!"

Giggles nodded happily, "Yeah, apparently they're trying to save this little music shop, so they're just going to meet at some point and have a concert using the instruments in the store. Then they'll autograph them so the store can make some money by selling them!"

"Let me hear the song!"

Giggles pulled out her ipod and scrolled to the song, 'Asylum 45'.

Meth, Flippy, Nutty, and Disco were sitting in the back of the bus talking about how the event would go.

"You have all the clothes?" Meth asked with his gaze fixed on Nanette.

"Yeah," Flippy said while playing air bass, "Disco has everything in his back pack. Clothes, hair gel, sunglasses, extra picks, and a baton..."

Meth looked toward the grinning bear who answered his thoughts, "The baton's for knocking away the fans you're about to rile up, you guys are gonna be smokin'!"

Meth nodded and looked back toward the front of the bus, "Do you remember your role?"

Disco nodded, "I run to the store to beat all the fans who get there early, then I select gear like yours and preset it. Egnater for Flippy, Mesa for you, and Zildjian for Nutty."

"And the guitars?" asked Flippy.

"Uh, anything cheap or off brand for Meth, and a five string Dean for you."

Nutty nodded happily, "We're really gonna do it, aren't we?"

Meth grinned and leaned back as the bus swerved violently to the left, "As long as Bullwinkle up there doesn't get us killed before then."

"Yeah," added Nutty, "At least we're not on the other bus. Handy's drivin' that one!"

Meth burst out in laughter with Disco, Flippy, and Nutty following.

Giggles and Nanette turned toward the group, Sniffles being pre-occupied with a book.

"He's such a dork," Nanette said with a sigh.

"Which one?" Giggles asked while looking back.

Nanette waved in the general direction, "Kronik, or whatever his name is."

"Meth. Don't worry about it, once we get there we'll meet up with sandra and everyone from the other bus and book it to the store. You won't even have to talk to him."

"Yeah, whatever."

**(Two hours, and a sixteen car pile up later...)**

Lumpy parks the bus near the biggest park in the city and allows the frightened passengers to disembark.

"Oh god, we're late!" yells Nanette while looking at her watch.

"I'm just happy to be alive!"

Disco quickly grabs the clothes out of his pack and gives them to the musicians.

"Are you sure this is gonna fit?" asked Meth, looking closely at the twinkling jacket.

"Oh, that's Nutty's. I spent all night putting sequins on it."

Nutty grabs the clothes from Meth's hands and drops the ones he was holding, "Oh boy! It's sparkly!"

Meth picks up the clothes Nutty dropped and inspected them, "Military emblems? These must be Flippy's."

Flippy took the clothes and nodded in agreement, "These must be yours."

Meth took the large pile and blinked at the heaviness of the fabric, "Is this leather? It's eighty degrees out!"

Disco laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I didn't plan on that. Well, just figure it out. I got to go set up."

Disco began sprinting down the street, ignoring the crosswalk.

"That's j-walking," Flippy said with a nod.

Nutty had already changed into his outfit and returned to the group, "How's it look?"

Meth laughed and sang, "Like a rhinestone cowboy,"

"Da, Da!" Flippy added with a laugh.

Nutty frowned, "This isn't very metal, is it?"

Flippy shook his head, "No."

Meth sighed, "Disco keeps thinking Disco, let's hope he at least tunes for metal. Just find something on the way to the shop. Remember, first drums, then bass, then lead."

Flippy nodded, "Are you sure about not using our own gear? Betty's gonna be mad I left in her case."

Meth shrugged, "It would be a dead give away. Also, we'd have to let the store sell our gear."

"Well, we better get going." Nutty said while running down the street, also j-walking.

Flippy sighed and ran after him, "Remember the plan!"

Meth turned to the group behind him consisting of Giggles, a now pale Petunia, Nanette, and some other person he's never met.

"Oh my god, I can't wait!" yelled a purple tiger, mimicking air guitar.

"Yeah, it's gonna be all standing room, so we better hurry." stated Giggles with a look at her cell phone.

Sandra looked over Nanette's shoulder and saw Meth waving.

"Hello!"

Everyone groaned a hello except Sandra who extended her hand, "Hello, I'm Sandra!"

"Meth," he said while shaking her hand, "Got a second?"

Nanette sighed and turned around, "What?"

Meth watched as the group began walking toward the store, "What's wrong with Petunia?"

"Handy's driving is worse than Lumpy's."

Meth chuckled, "So, about this show they're having-"

"Listen, I don't know what you think you've got going for you, but you're a loser."

Meth blinked for a moment, "What?"

"It's obvious I can't stand you, I don't know why you keep trying to talk to me. I have no feelings for you as an friend, and I never will, so leave me alone!"

Meth twitched as if he'd been stabbed. This being the downtown section of the city, it was a possibility. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. That twitch was the death of the happy, and carefree Meth, and the creation of something worse, darker and more evil, hidden beneath the surface.

Nanette walked quickly away to where Sandra had been leaning against a light post, "Glad I waited for you. It's a shame, he has potential."

"Shut up. I hope that freak didn't make me late for the show."

Another violent shudder and Meth realizes he was crying, the falling tears just now being recognized on his numb face.

He looks down and wipes his face clear of any evidence he was just murdered on the inside.

"_You're hopeless,_"a voice screams nearby.

He looked up quickly to see who said it, but saw no one in the immediate area.

Meth inhaled a deep breath and sighed, "Okay,"

He looked at the clothes Disco gave him and tossed away the black leather overcoat and inspected the camouflage cut-off fatigues and the black t-shirt with the arms cut away.

He began changing on the sidewalk, no longer worrying or caring about the pedestrians staring at him. He connected the long chain to his belt loop, then tucked it into his back pocket. He slid on the pair of aviators that were tangled into the shirt and began walking toward the shop.

**(At the Shop...)**

Disco had just finished the set ups and looked around the already crowded shop. All the rows of amps were pushed aside to make room for standees, but there still lacked enough space for everyone. The only openings of the three room building were for the drums that sat in their own room among an assortment of drum accessories, sticks, and what have you.

The bass gear was to the left of the main room, and there were several stacks to choose from. Disco had already chosen an Egnater halfstack, checked the tubes, and tuned a dean five string XL he had taken off the wall.

In an adjacent room, hundreds of acoustics lined the walls. Disco hadn't thought of entering the heavily humidified enclosure to check the tunings of the guitars, but entering now would draw too much attention, and it was best to roll with what was already set up.

Nutty's drums were a different story. It was a Pearl set with a different set of heads he hadn't used before. This set also had dual bass drums and double bass pedal already adjusted, so hopefully he wouldn't notice. Nonetheless, he checked the gaps and distances between the toms and symbols, and switched the Pearl high-hat with an Zildjian he saw on display.

Meth's setup, however, was a little more difficult. The shop didn't have an Mesa Boogie on display, so he had to settle for a Marshall JSM halfstack. By 'he' had to settle, i mean Meth had to settle. He had pulled over an smaller amp from Epiphone and plugged in an Sennheiser microphone. After adjusting the stand for the mic, he nonchalantly adjusted the volume levels on the amps.

Now, he waited for the show to begin.

"Where are they? We won't even know who they are!" Sandra yelled while looking around the crowd.

The fans gathered in the large group all wore black and several had band T-shirts with their latest album's art on the front. A Large stereo tower with an lightning bolt on the tip. Around it in a circle were the words, 'Sedated Titans, You're #1 source for Rebel Radio!'.

"Who's that?" Sandra whispered while nodding toward the door.

In walked Nutty with his hair spiked and spray canned red. He was shirtless, showing a slight gut, but luckily enough he was wearing shredded purple shorts.

"It looks like Nutty, but a mixture of the Hulk." replied Giggles.

Several in the group looked in his direction, but pegged him for another fan here to witness the show.

He wandered around the room, inspecting several of the guitars before making his way to the drum room. He quickly ripped the ends off a handful of pixie sticks and inhaled the whole lot. He became jittery and leaped behind the drum set. He clapped his sticks together four times, then began hitting the double pedals like a mad man. He slowly integrated more and more of the drum set as he went.

The crowd had been so preoccupied by Nutty, that they hadn't noticed Flippy emerge toward the Bass amp.

He was wearing a military jacket that was ripped and covered with fake blood. He began plucking and strumming to the beat of the drums. His fingers snaked around the neck struggled to keep up, but he managed with expert grace. This was an intro they had worked out as an instrumental until Meth arrived.

As the crowd cheered and snapped pictures, they froze and turned toward the door as they sensed the presence of something threatening enter.

Meth's hair was pulled out of his ponytail and hung well down to his shoulders. He tossed the bangs from his face without removing his hands from his pockets, and walked toward the Marshall.

Not noticing the different amp, he slid his guitar over his shoulder and hit the on switch. He kicked the foot switch into place and stomped for the Metal channel. At this instant, all three began violently nodding their heads to the beat, and began the opening riff for Asylum 45.

Among the raging fans, Giggles, Sandra, Nanette, and Petunia were speechless.

"You guys never told me you knew the guitarist!" Sandra yelled to be heard.

"We didn't know," Petunia yelled back, "He never showed any resemblance to him!"

"That would explain why you called him freak boy," added Sandra.

Nanette was still incapable of speech. She had made an incorrect judgement, and called her idol a loser.

Meth had lost his glasses amid the headbanging, and took a step toward the microphone that Disco had setup. There was a brief hiss of feedback, but it soon Faltered.

He began to yell a new set of lyrics to the song, sending confusion to the other members who were not notified of the changes. Nutty and Flippy shrugged to each other, and figured he knew what he was doing.

"_Through the darkened cold, and desolation, we fight the plague that consumes the nation! We don't need no burning bullets, we don't need no sharpened steel. We're programmed to see the truth, we're taught to see what's real!_"

"New lyrics!" screamed a fan who was being knocked around as a mosh pit was struggling to be formed.

"_I'm the poison to you're antidote, i'm the nerve that helps you feel! In the blackened deep I roam, but inside you I call my home!_"

The three musicians synched perfectly for a breakdown. Meth strummed a power chord and the bass and drums changed to match.

"_You cast me aside like yesterday's news, you pulled me down, gave me the blues! You can play your games, you can pick and choose, but it's okay I love the abuse!_"

Meth played a snakey riff backed by the bass, then finished the chorus.

"_Beneath the black in me I rise, riding on the acid tide, you can run, but you can't hide, cause after all, you're my bride!_"

The women began screaming as the crowd surged back and forth through the crowded room. Meth slid his hand up the neck of his Memphis guitar, and slammed back into the full force verse.

Meth and Flippy happened to glance at each other and realized something was wrong. Flippy's eyes were a bright green, which always happened when he released his demon while playing, but Flippy noticed Meth's right eye was slowly turning red.

"This is even better than the one on the internet! It must be a Remix!" yelled Giggles.

Petunia swayed with the crowd rather than risking an injury by resisiting, "The music's okay, I don't know about the crowd though,"

Nanette had drifted toward the back of the screaming fans who were more than happy to take her place near the front. In a daze she slumped against the wall and waited for the whole day to be over.

* * *

><p>Well there you have it! Hope you enjoyed reading it, if not it's okay.<p>

I can continue this if anyone's interested to see how it ends, but for now it's just a oneshot.

Now for the legal stuff...

All original HTF characters © of Mondo Media

Meth, Nanette, Sandra, the name Sedated Titans, the song along with the lyrics, Asylum 45 © Me

Thanks for reading! I'll go work on the other story so it isn't as bad as this, lol.


	2. Aftershock

Sorry took so long, second chapter of, This Is Rebel Radio.

_ After escaping the mob scene after the show, the guys are walking down a street in Acorn City, all three begin shaking and twitching as the pulse pounding adrenaline from the echo of the amplifiers begin to fade.

Meth begins to chuckle, which turns into an roar of laughter. Flippy and Nutty follow, disbelief fueling the energy they find to laugh.

"I can't believe it," Meth says in disbelief.

Nutty begins to wobble sideways and collapses onto a nearby bench. Meth and Flippy sit next to him and they all sigh.

Nutty chuckles and stretches, "That was amazing! I can't believe we played a live show in front of an screaming audience!"

Meth continues the conversation, but Flippy is pre-occupied by a nagging voice he hears in his head.

"_I don't like this. You can't sit there and tell me it doesn't bother you!"_ yells an evil voice.

Flippy thought a reply, 'What do you think happened? He was playing better than i've ever heard him play. He had to of created those lyrics off the top of his head.'

"_I'm gonna get to the bottom of this."_

Flippy's mind went blank as he felt the presence of his demon leave his body.

**(Hell)**

The sky is painted a burning red with spots of black clouds floating lazily. Evil's foot smashes a skull as he walks on the grey field of dirt and blood.

Growling, he scans the horizon for anything out of the ordinary.

"Show your self!"

His scream echos for nearly a minute before he feels something approaching him. He turns around to see a splitting image of Meth standing behind him.

"Ok, tell me what you're doing here, and I may let you live," Evil said while running his hand over hi knife he had withdrawn.

The figure says nothing, nor seems as if he plans on a reply.

"Okay,"

Evil swings the blade which sinks directly into the figure's chest, while swinging his free hand into his face.

The force of the blow knocks the figure's glasses to the ground. Slowly turning back to his original position the figure grins and opens his eyes revealing a pair of blazing red orbs contrary to Evil's green.

With a single hand he pushes Evil backward sending him back to Flippy's mind.

**(Real World)**

Flippy cries out and places a hand against his pounding head. Amid the screaming curses of Evil, he hears words from an unrecognizable voice.

"_Stay out of my host. Next time, I will kill you."_

Meth and Nutty look at Flippy with concerned looks.

"Are you okay?"

Meth pulls out his wallet and gives Nutty a ten dollar bill, "Go get us some Humans, that should take the edge off."

Nutty nods and runs down the street in search of a vending machine.

"Are you okay, man?"

Flippy nods and takes several deep breathes, "Just a headache, that's all."

Meth shrugs, "Evil acting out?"

Flippy offers a weak chuckle, "Yeah, he's just angry, like usual."

"_I'm gonna rip his throat out!"_

"Meth, what was with you at the show tonight? You were playing like I never seen before, and your eyes were different. I think you have a demon as well."

Meth sighed and sunk down in the bench, "Yeah. Well, here's what happened."

Meth finished the story of what happened with Nanette before the show right as Nutty was returning with the drinks.

"Wow, I don't know what to say."

Meth shrugged, "What's there to say?"

Meth took the tall, black can with a green jagged H that Nutty offered him.

"Ice cold Human for you," Nutty said, not realizing what occurred while he was gone, "And one for you."

Flippy took the can with a nod of thanks. They all opened their can and clinked them together. Meth finished his in a single gulp and tossed the empty can into the street.

"Don't worry man, she'll come around. After a show like that, she'll be begging for a second chance."

Nutty gave them a curious look, but out of respect did not push the subject.

Meth sighed and stretched, "I don't want her to want me because of what she sees while i'm on the stage."

Nutty sighed, "We only have ten minutes to get to the meeting spot, or we get left behind."

With a nod in agreement, the Sedated Titans began the walk to the pier of Big Acorn.

**(The Next Morning) **

Meth groaned at the loud surge of sound that woke him from his sleep. He yawned and threw his alarm clock against the wall, but it didn't stop the music. He blinked at the strange event before realizing it's his phone that was ringing. He looked at the screen but didn't recognize the number.

He sighed and hit the answer button, "Who is it?"

The reply was white noise with the sound of shuffling on the other end.

He waited several seconds then hit the end button and tossed the phone back onto the table. He rolled over and yawned, but was kept awake by another call.

Angrily he answered the phone and yelled, "who the hell is it?"

"Dude chill, it's Sandra."

"Who?"

"Sandra. Met yesterday in the city?"

Meth sat up and looked at the number, "How'd you get my number?"

"I got it from Nanette, she said-"

Meth hit the end button and sighed heavily. The phone began ringing again. With a growl he hurled the phone at the wall and watched as it smashed into pieces.

Blinking, he sighed and pulled his SIM from the phone and walked to the closet where he had several spare phones.

With his new phone he walked downstairs and into the kitchen. The house was quiet, as normal, and he looked into the adjacent rooms while he leaned against the counter and waited for the coffee to cook.

The house was clean and well furnished. There was a small library of books on the shelf in the family room, not that you would call it a family house. Being the only one living there, Meth would say it was just a house. Without parents or siblings to pester you, it becomes pretty easy to enjoy cleaning a house. With his coffee, he now ventured into the main room and jumped onto the couch.

He picked up the remote but did not turn on the tv. He spent another second looking around the room before doing so. After flipping through several channells and seeing nothing good on, he decided he'd skip school for the day and find something better to do.

Seconds later his phone began ringing. He looked at the number before answering and recognized it.

"How's it going?"

A tired sounding Flippy answered with a chuckle, "Can't complain. You goin' to school today?"

Meth shook his head, realizing how useless the gesture was on a phone call, "No, probably not. Have anything planned?"

Flippy yawned and replied, "I don't know. We should go to the school and grab Nutty. Then we can go to the music shop or something."

"Sounds good."

"Alright, let me get ready and i'll swing by in the van."

Meth agreed and hung up. He turned off the TV and walked up the stairs to get ready. After a shower and a quick change of clothes, he was ready to begin the day.

* * *

><p>Just a quick chapter. Not sure what will happen next.<p>

Thanks for reading.


	3. School Daze

Alright, here's chapter three. Have a new character to introduce, and the story is gonna begin to pickup and get readable.

* * *

><p>"Hey Flippy?"<p>

Flippy yawned and replied while pulling the large red van to a stop at a traffic light, "Yeah?"

"Have you decided what you want to do when you get out of school?" Meth asked while looking out the window.

"I didn't think we were going to school today," Flippy replied with a chuckle.

"Ha, ha," Meth said while leaning the seat back, "Seriously."

Flippy shrugged and released the brake, "Not really."

The van rolled away from the light, taking care to avoid the 'Mole' lane.

"What about you?"

Meth sighed and cracked his knuckles, "I wasn't so sure, but after yesterday I think i've made up my mind."

Flippy nodded in agreement, "That sure was something. Nutty agreed he had never felt the way he did playing in front of a crowd. And the party after, that was enjoyable."

Meth leaned his seat forward and turned to face Flippy, "Party?"

"Yeah, after we got back from the city You threw a party at your place."

Meth shrugged, "I don't remember it. I can't find my wallet, my guitar, or even my car keys."

Flippy began counting on his fingers, "Your wallet's in your locker, you left your guitar at the studio so I grabbed it before I left, and you left your keys in the ignition. You left the party and went out to the garage for a couple hours."

Meth turned around in the seat and sure enough, his case was sitting on the couch in the back of the van.

"Well, that's a relief. But why's my wallet in my locker?"

Flippy chuckled several times while negotiating through a corner, "We broke into the school last night to begin our series of senior pranks."

"Don't tell me, the chickens?"

Flippy nodded, "The chickens."

After several minutes of non-stop laughing, Flippy pulled into the parking lot outside the school, "Also, guess who's locker you put them in."

Meth grinned, "Nanette's."

Flippy nodded and the laughing began again.

Meth unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door, "Alright, I'm gonna grab Nutty, then we'll find something to do."

[][][][]

With a heavy sigh, Nanette followed the line of students as they disembarked the bus. The day started out terribly, and by the looks of it, it was sure to be a long one. It would a lot easier if she didn't hear about them every where she went.

It was one concert, how could so much change in a single day. The one person she avoided like the plague turned out to be the one person she felt she connected with the most. He was different for those twenty minutes he stood in front of that crowd.

Something changed him from the dork who was always making jokes and yelling about something or another.

Let's face it, he was a god.

Flippy and Nutty were his soldiers, following the lead, right by his side. If I had took the time to honestly look not so much at him, but within, I'd be there to.

'Calm down Nanny,' She thought to herself, 'There's always a way to redeem yourself.'

She quickly rolled in her password and slid the pin for the locker. The door burst open and two chickens squawked loudly and fluttered into the hallway.

She cried out in surprise and stumbled backwards and the flailing fowl erupted in different directions.

Even though there were only two chickens, someone had painted the number one on one and three on the other.

The hall became a frenzy. The students rushed in the direction of the offices, the flightless birds on their heels.

Lifty and Shifty took the chance to stay behind and loot the lockers that remained open. Realizing many of the lucky bystanders had neglected to leave their backpacks behind, they sighed disappointedly and rigged the lockers so they will open without a code.

They quickly merged with the group, deciding to come back at a future time.

Nanette climbed to her feet, happy no one noticed it was her locker they disembarked from.

"Hey, someone! Help me!"

Nanette looked down the now empty hall. She didn't see the owner of the voice, nor the whereabouts of where it may be.

The voice returned, now with a loud banging, "Anybody, I'm stuck in a locker!"

Turning to the source of the noise, she recognized the voice, even though it wasn't their locker she was trapped in.

"Hold on, I'll get you out. What's the code?"

The voice paused for a moment, "I don't know, I was getting something for a friend and the pencil holding the lock fell out."

"Okay, who's locker is it."

"It's Flippy's. He called and said he wasn't gonna be here today and asked me to get his books." the voice's pitch rising to a nearly hysterical whimper.

"I'll go find someone who knows the code." Nanette yelled as she rushed down the hallway.

[][][][]

"So what does the principal want?" asked Nutty as he closed the door to his classroom behind him.

Meth shook his head, "Nothing. Me and Flippy are taking the day off and you're coming with."

The two walked down the hallway in silence, Nutty finally deciding it was a good idea.

"So, what are we gonna do?" he asked as he opened his locker and tossed in his unwanted books.

Meth shrugged, "Haven't really decided yet. Probably go to Vinnie's."

Nutty slammed his locker which brought a nearby teacher from her room.

"Where are your hall passes? Don't give me a lame excuse, Martin."

Meth sighed and whispered to Nutty, "I hate when they use my real name."

Nutty chuckled and pointed down the hall where a chicken rushed by with Lumpy in it's wake, "They're working on finding one and three, we've been assigned to find two."

The teachers glances to where Lumpy and Mime are attempting to corner bird three. The bird leaps for Mime, but he mimics a glass box and the bird is trapped.

Lumpy sighed and questioned whether the bird was really in it or not. Lifting the lid, he peeks in only to have a beak to eye. He screams as he falls backward and the bird escapes.

Mime face palms and grudgingly chases after the bird.

The teacher sighed and returned to her room, "Looks like they can use all the help they can get."

Nutty and Meth waited a short distance before laughing.

"Hey, do you guys know-"

Meth and Nutty turned to see Nanette skidding to a stop in front of them.

Nutty opened his mouth to say something, but the look on his face prompted Meth to tap his shoulder. Meth shook his head, signaling now was not the time.

"What?" asked Nutty, doing his best to disguise his disgust.

Nanette replied slightly higher than a whisper, "Flaky's stuck in Flippy's locker."

Meth and Nutty looked at each other, before turning back to the nervous feline.

Nutty's tail twitched and he looked back at Meth, "Do you know the password?"

Meth shrugged, "I don't even know my own."

"What do we do?"

"Nutty, go see what you can do. I have to get something from my locker, then I'll meet you down there."

Nutty nodded and began walking away. Nanette opened her mouth to say something, Nutty tugged her along, asking where it was.

Meth walked the short distance and counted out the lockers as he went, "Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three."

Stopping he kicked the bottom of locker twenty three, causing it to shudder and swing open. He grabbed his wallet which had a piece of paper sticking out.

Confused, he pulled out the paper which had Crystal written in looping script and beneath that was a phone number.

He slid the wallet into his back pocket and held onto the paper, hoping Nutty could shed some light on it.

* * *

><p>There's chapter three. Not as long as i'd like, but what can you do.<p>

Anyway, Crystal will be introduced in the next chapter, Flippy's dad will toss in his two cents, and maybe the gang'll get into some trouble.

Also, I got a new amp, so i'm gonna begin tabbing the guitar parts for the music I use in here. When I get something recorded, i'll try to upload it to newgrounds. You can check my DA (link in profile) for any updates or news.

One last thing, i'm gonna begin hiding facts, song titles, and musical stuff throughout the chapters. I will let you know how many and any hints I can give at the beginning starting next chapter. Haven't figured out anything as a reward yet, but we'll see how long it goes on.

Thanks for reading.


	4. A Proposition

Okay, chapter four. There's going to be a concert next chapter, and i'm gonna add a few more characters.

There is going to be an Irish folk song used next chapter, and since it is a folk song and doesn't belong to anyone, I can use it.

I will also be thinking up lyrics for a song that will be in the next chapter.

Let's get started.

[][][]

"How did you get stuck in there?" asked Nutty as he and Nanette waited for Meth.

"There were chickens, and I panicked."

"Did you get it?" Meth asks as he steps toward the locker while replacing his wallet.

Nutty slams on the door, "Looks like it's stuck pretty good."

Meth nods and begins looking around the outside of the door, "If I know Flippy, he has his password hidden somewhere."

Crouching to check the bottom, he hands the paper to Nutty, "Do you know who this is?"

Nutty read the name out loud and sighed, "Yeah. You don't remember her?"

Nanette, who had her attention focused on the end of the hall turns around at the mention of possible opposition.

"I don't remember anything about last night." Meth adds while he runs his fingers along the vents.

"She just kinda showed up at the party. Wouldn't say anything to anyone except you. Talk about a die hard fan."

Meth chuckled and peered under the locker's number plate.

"Can you hurry it up?" yells Flaky from inside the locker.

"We could just walk away and pretend we didn't hear anything."

"Take your time,"

"Anyway," Nutty continues, "Last I remember she went into the garage looking for you."

Meth put the paper back in his pocket and removed a small multi-tool, "Now I really regret not remembering anything."

Flipping open the blade, he pried the number tag off the steel of the locker and underneath it was the combination, written in black marker.

Looking between the lock and the combination, he managed to open the locker, much to the satisfaction of Flaky who sprinted out almost instantly.

"Freedom!" she yelled triumphantly.

Looking at each other and shrugging, Meth and Nutty decided it was best to leave before it was too late.

"Well, see you guys later," Nutty said with a wave as they ran down the hallway.

"Is it me," Flaky began, "Or does Martin look cuter than he usually does?"

With an angry sigh, Nanette turned and began walking away.

"What?" Flaky asked confusedly.

[][][]

"So this is them?" asked the store clerk at Vinnie's as him and the manager stood peering through the window of the sound-proof room.

Lighting a cigarette, Vinnie nodded, exhaling smoke while he answered, "Yeah."

"Not bad," says the clerk, nodding his head to the beat of the faint rumble of music.

"They're a bit mixed up,"

"What do you mean?"

Pointing at Flippy, "Look at the Bassist,"

Flippy is swaying back and forth while he furiously plucks the strings of his guitar and snakes his fretting hand around the top of his neck.

"Yeah?"

Tapping the ashes from his cigarette, he explains, "He's incorporating a few runs of bluegrass into the quickness of thrash. He's got style."

Vinnie points at Meth.

The fingers of his right hand move violently over the bottom of his guitar neck.

"What's wrong with him?" asks the clerk.

"Looking at his picking hand,"

The clerk's jaw drops when he notices what he pointed out.

"That's right, he's playing lead and rhythm at the same time,"

Meth's right hand rested on the bridge of his guitar, muting the top two strings. The pick between his thumb and first finger strummed the thicker strings, giving the heavier sound to the song, while his last three fingers pluck the notes for the solo he's playing.

"He's on a totally different level than the other two. I've never even heard of anyone trying that."

Lastly, he turns his attention to Nutty, who appears to be keeping pace with the others, but with a much greater amount of effort.

"The drummer is pretty good, but he's behind by at least a beat or two. He can't keep up."

[][][]

'We have spectators,' Meth thinks while looking from his guitar to the window.

He manages to get a glance at Flippy, who seemed to be doing a good job at keeping Evil hidden, only faint traces of green formed around the edges of his eyes.

Nutty seemed like he was doing okay, but could benefit from a break.

Meth... he was afraid at what his eyes were showing.

Luckily enough, Flippy and Meth's phones began ringing. After everything quieted down, Meth and Flippy both checked their phones, while Nutty made a fake a ringing noise, being the only one without a phone.

"Yeah, I can't really talk. I'm in the middle of passing period." lied Flippy, his dad being the caller.

"Really?" began his dad, "That's why the school called and said you and two of your friends didn't show up today."

"Oh..." was all Flippy could think of saying.

"If you're gonna lie to me, at least take off your bass, I can hear the feedback."

Flippy turned to the amp he was using and could only faintly hear the screeching noise, the loud noise of the music impairing his hearing.

"Dad, i-"

"Look, I don't care. Whenever you and your friends get done at Vinnie's, come to the house. I have something we need to talk about."

"How did you know we were at Vinnie's?" asked Flippy.

"I was young once, believe it or not."

[][][]

"Hello?" Meth asked walking to the other side of the room.

"Hello!" said an overly cheerful voice.

Blinking, Meth checked the number and recognized it as the same one from the note in his wallet.

"Crystal?"

"You remembered!"

"Yeah, that's about all though," Meth answered, holding the phone away from his ear.

"Really? You don't remember anything?" Crystal answered, sincere concern in her voice.

"Well, nothing from last night," Meth replied while slipping his guitar over his head, foreseeing a long conversation

"Oh. If it makes you feel better, you were a total gentleman."

"Thanks?"

"No problem," Crystal began, "Anyway, I had called to see if you put any thought into my offer, but I guess you haven't if you don't remember..."

"What was it again?"

"I had offered my services as a road crew," answered Crystal.

Meth thought intently for a moment before answering, "I'm not sure if we need a roadie. We have an equipment tech-"

"The lecherous bear? Yeah, he quit last night."

"Really?" Meth asked, more confused than worried.

"Yup, so that means you have an opening. Without sounding egotistical, you would really benefit from my services. I can do anything, run mixers, equipment tuning and assembly, song production, video production, management-"

"Wait, management?"

"No just regular management, but I do have a cousin in physical therapy," Crystal said as if it was a common question, "I can get you guys interviews, appearances, shows, pretty much anything. Speaking of, I took the liberty of updating your site. It was kinda outdated. I added video of the show you guys played yesterday."

"Outdated?" Meth exclaimed, "We had just added an song two days ago, and how did you sign in?"

"Firstly," began Crystal, "You really need to stay up to date on a site if you want to get more fans. Secondly, having guest as your password isn't a good idea."

Meth covers the phone and looks to Flippy, "You have the password for the site as Guest?"

Flippy shrugged, "Seemed good at the time."

Meth turned back to his phone, "Look, you should really be talking to the entire band, I can't decide anything on my own. But get us an interview somewhere, then we'll talk."

"Of course, consider it done, sir!" Crystal replied enthusiastically.

"Don't call me sir,"

"OK, sure thing sir, er, whatever a proper response is. Goodbye!"

Meth put away his phone with a heavy sigh and joined the rest of the group.

"That was my dad," Flippy said while he packed up his bass, "he wants to talk to us."

"Busted," Nutty said while twirling his drumsticks around his fingers.

Shaking his head, Flippy responds, "Na, he didn't care. He wanted to talk to all of us though, said it was important."

Shrugging Meth, slips off his guitar and rotates his shoulder, "I think we're about done anyway."

Agreeing, the group began to roll up all the chords they used and returned the amps to their spots along the walls.

After loading all their gear into the van, they left to find out what Flippy's dad wanted.

"Okay, fill me in on what happened with Disco last night." Meth said while buckling his seat belt.

Nutty crouched in between the driver seat and the passenger seat, "You remember that?"

"No, Crystal called and said he had quit."

with a chuckle, Flippy glanced in the rear-view mirror, "Quit is more of an understatement. Maybe, catastrophic meltdown explains it better."

"Yeah," Nutty continued, "He kept flirting with all the women, and even some of the men."

Flippy nodded in agreement, "He had way too much to drink. You asked him to leave, and he went psycho on everyone."

"He clocked you in the face, then a bunch of us threw him out." Nutty finished.

Negotiating a turn, Flippy added, "You don't remember any of it?"

Meth shrugged, "Must have been a good party."

"To say the least," Nutty said while twirling his sticks.

'I didn't drink anything,' Meth thought.

[][][]

"Hello?" Crystal answered.

"What have you found out?" asked a stern, female voice.

Sighing at the owner of the voice, "It's only been a day, I haven't found anything proving they are who they are. Are you sure we have the right people?"

A laugh, "Remember the video?"

Of course she did. She already uploaded it to the site, after removing the blaring red and green eyes from the bassist and guitarist.

"Come on, that doesn't mean anything. They could have been contacts or dye,"

A heavy sigh followed by an disappointed retort, "Crystal, crystal, crystal. You're not beginning to forget who your friends are, right?"

"Of course not, but," Crystal began, "We need to be prepared in case they are better than us."

"You're not going to let that happen," the voice reminded, "If so, maybe i'll let Patema make a visit to your little boy toy."

Looking to the brown wolf sitting across from her, Crystal saw the bloodthirsty grin she gave while flipping her knife into the air.

"Understood," Crystal answered.

"Good. Call me when you find something." the voice answered before hanging up.

Without the phone blocking her ear, the low rhythmic bumps of a bass found it's way to her. Another female wolf stood stone faced, plucking the strings of her guitar. The bass was so clean it's finish was like that of a mirror, her blue fur reflecting across it's surface.

The third female wolf in the band joined in with a six string. Her expression was likewise the same, noticeable only after she flipped her blonde hair out of her face. The only difference was her fur was in between a white and grey, with a faint tint of green.

With a sigh, Crystal slung her guitar over her shoulder and pulled her black hair behind her ears and plugged into her amp. She waited several seconds before joining in their song, a slow cover of a Beatles song.

Towards the middle of it, all their eyes began glowing their respective colors. Crystal's were as white as her fur, and as bright as the sun. No longer needing to focus on the song, she began humming the beat of the song.

Being the only bear in a band of wolves meant you had a lot to prove.

[][][]

Dreading arriving at Flippy's, decided to take it slow, and seeing no traffic, goof off a little. Meth was sitting with his back against the windshield, on the hood of the van with his guitar carefully placed in his lap.

Flippy had his seat leaned back with his feet on the steering wheel. Nutty was drumming on the dashboard.

Meth was singing while the van rolled along down the road.

"Oh my god," Flippy's dad said to himself while shaking his head.

He was standing on the porch while the van turned into the drive way. After pulling to a stop in the driveway, Meth finished the song.

"While my guitar gently weeps!" 

With a final strum, he slid off the hood while Flippy and Nutty exited and closed the doors.

"You're an idiot."

"Thank you," said Meth with a bow.

Shaking his head, he looked to his son for an answer, "What'd you do at Vinnie's?"

With a shrug, "Just messed around. What did you want to see us for?"

"Let's got to the studio," he replied, "I have a business proposition for you."

[][][][]

There you have it! What will they talk about? If I told you, it'd ruin the surprise! You'll have to wait for the next chapter!

Anyway, I covered an addition to the plot that I wanted to. Crystal and her band of wolves. What are their intentions? Well, again you'll have to wait.

I will be making lyrics for an original song to be featured in the next chapter.

Don't let that stop you from reading it when it comes out!

Thanks for reading!


	5. Interview With The Empire

Chapter 5.

Okay, we'll find out more about Crystal's band, find out if she came through on getting the interview, and see how she will try to ruin the guys' first real concert.

Let the music begin!

┏(・o･)┛ ┗ ( ･o･) ┓ ┏ ( ) ┛ ┗ (･o･ ) ┓ ┏(･o･)┛

The guys were exhausted. Three straight days in the studio with little sleep. However, after three days of nothing but school, practice, and countless amounts of snapped strings and drumsticks, they had their new song planned and ready to go.

'Saturday's the deadline,' Meth thought to himself, looking around the studio in Flippy's basement, thinking back to what his dad had proposed.

[][][][]

Flippy's dad turns around in his chair after shutting down the computer attached to the large thirty-two channel mixing board. He left the anxious musicians waiting while he took the time to glance around the studio he had built more than a decade ago.

It started as a night of way too many drinks with the guys and ended with a destroyed basement. After cleaning up the broken drywall and pieces of his guitar, he decided a studio would be an fun idea.

With the addition of a couple mattresses and old blankets on the wall, and a table with an computer that was outdated by today's standards, it was functional.

A small fortune spent on equipment and raw materials later, it took the shape of what it is now. A segmented wall, with a large window, soundproofed door leading to the recording room and the top of the stairs, and a whole lot of bass traps along the walls, and even a soundproofed storage room attached to the recording room.

It was his legacy, and now it was time to pass it on to his son.

Finally ready to face everyone, he sighed heavily, "I've seen what you guys have made in here, and i'm impressed."

Meth, Flippy, and Nutty shifted nervously, obviously not used to this amount of praise from an elder.

"I've talked with my son about what he sees in his future. I'd like for him to be a doctor, or a lawyer," he began.

Seeing Flippy move to say something, he continued, "However, that isn't my choice."

Pointing to Nutty, he asked, "What do you have planned after you graduate?"

Nutty gulped and shrugged, "I don't know,"

"And you?"

Meth replied with a serious gaze, "I think that's pretty obvious, Mr. Sanders."

"Carl," he replied, "And that's a good yet, careless answer. What if things don't work out?"

"Then i'll have to try again," Meth answered.

"What do the rest of you think?" Carl asked, motioning to the rest of the group.

They had both matched the seriousness of Meth and replied the best they could, "If I get knocked down, i'll get up again," Flippy replied.

"Never gonna keep us down," Nutty replied with a chuckle.

Flippy's dad nodded, pleased by the answer, "How about you guys come play in my bar. It'll be a good way to decide if this is something you want to follow or not."

Flippy looked between Nutty and Meth. They were nearly drooling with the desire to do this, and he didn't need to be coerced.

"Sounds like a plan," he replied.

[][][][]

Meth stopped suddenly and wiped sweat from his forehead, "I think that's enough for today,"

Flippy nodded and collapsed backwards into an awkward sitting position. Nutty didn't look much better, his face was red and he was breathing heavily.

"Let's relax for a couple days. No use for all this practice if we can't even play our instruments," Flippy offered while bagging up his guitar.

Meth nodded as he pulled his ringing phone from his pocket, "It's Crystal,"

"Are you gonna answer it?" Flippy asked.

"I don't know,"

Nutty shrugged, "It could be good news,"

With a sigh, Meth flipped open the screen, "Hello?"

"Where are you guys?" replied a yelling voice.

"We just got done with practice," Meth answered sheepishly.

"Look," began Crystal, "I got you guys an interview, you need to be at your computers by 8:00!"

Meth checked his watch, "That's an hour and a half, we have plenty of time."

"After everything I did to get this for you, you could at least take it seriously!"

"Phrasing," Meth replied with a chuckle.

"What?"

Doing his best to cover his amusement, he replied, "Nothing..."

"Whatever, don't mess this up!" she yelled as she ended the call.

"That sounded fun," Flippy said after hearing Meth's side of the conversation.

Meth put away his phone and boxed up his guitar, "We have to be at our computers by eight, something about an interview."

"Seriously?" Nutty asked, dropping his drumsticks and running around his set.

"Yeah,"

"Sounds good," Flippy began, "What do we talk about?"

Shrugging, Meth replied, "Whatever we want. We should try to fit in the gig at your dad's."

"Alright, let's get ready then," Nutty said as stretched.

"You'll be lucky if your camera even works," Meth said with a laugh.

[][Eight o'clock][]

"Okay music fans, you know what time it," said the cheerful fox as she tossed her hair red blue hair back, "Time for Web View!"

"Who do we have this week, Robin?" asked a male voice off camera.

"Good question," answered Robin as a clip of the guys' first show played on the screen.

All three of them were headbanging and swaying back and forth.

"The forums have been exploding with all the requests to get these guys on air, so that's exactly what we did, we present to you the Sedated Titans!"

The camera cuts to a TV screen with the word connecting blinking. After a few moments, the computer connects to their web cams. In one square of the screen, Flippy is sitting in front of his computer looking into the camera.

In another square there is static with a diagonal view of Nutty. In the remaining square, Meth is walking around his room with a towel draped round his waist.

"Oh my god!" yells Robin as she bursts out in laughter.

The off-screen voice is laughing while an groaning side-effect plays.

Meth turns around and sees his web cam is connected and quickly moves it up, "A little warning would have been nice,"

Flippy falls out of his chair from laughing while Nutty looks closely into the camera, "What's so funny, I don't see anything!"

The camera pans back down to a fully dressed Meth sitting in a computer chair, "Sorry about that."

"Don't mention it, ever." Robin replies, just now overcoming the fit of laughter.

"Yeah, I think i'm blind," Flippy answered.

"Okay," Robin said, taking a deep breath, "Let's get started,"

"Hello?" Nutty asked, still looking into the camera.

"We can hear you!" Robin yelled.

"Hello?" Nutty yelled again.

Meth sighed, "He's got his speakers off."

"Did you tell them we're a mix of Slayer and Seal?" he yelled, "The animal, not the singer!"

Another burst of laughter overcomes the fake audience while Meth and Flippy shake their heads.

"You can just disconnect him," Flippy said with a sigh.

Nutty's screen went blank.

"Now, how did you guys get your start?"

"Well," Meth began, "we started as a choir group for a satanic church, but Flippy didn't read in the contract that we had to be sacrificed after the show, so we changed formats."

"That wasn't funny," Flippy replied shaking his head.

"So what do you play now?"

"We play a little bit of everything," Flippy began, "Metal, thrash, rock, some hip-hop,"

"Hip-hop? Interesting. So you guys have recently had your first live show, why did you wait so long?"

"Meth?" said Flippy.

"We never really thought we were ready for a live show." Meth said with a shrug.

"You guys rocked that little shop on Monday, you seemed more than ready to perform against even the seasoned bands on the bill."

"Yeah, playing live is something we just started focusing on." Flippy replied, turning as the door to his room opened and Nutty walked in.

"Oh god," Robin said with a sigh, "Anyway, do you guys have any other shows planned?"

"Actually," Nutty replied as he squeezed into view of the camera, "This Saturday we're playing downtown at Crazy Eights."

"You guys got into Crazy Eights?" Robin asked, wide-eyed, "I know major artists that couldn't get in there."

"Flippy's dad owns the place," Meth replied, drinking from a can with a black label.

"Now, this has been bothering me since I seen your video," Robin began, "Do you guys write your own music or do you do covers?"

"Everything you've heard on our site is by us, but we like to mess around with covers," Flippy answered.

"We don't have much time left, we only have a few more questions to get through. Do you plan to update the site more?"

"Well, we were gonna wait until Saturday to announce this," Meth began, waiting for a conformation from everyone else.

"Go ahead," Nutty replied.

"Okay, we talked it over and we have taken on a manager to help get things going. Honestly, it's downright amazing everything she can do. You should be seeing new music, maybe some music videos and some behind the scenes clips too,"

"Well, congrats on that! Next question, what is the actual name of the band? Is it Sedated Titans, or Rebel Radio? There has been a lot of confusion with that."

"We're actually Sedated Titans, but Rebel Radio is a kind of storyline to our music."

"It's like we're a group of rebels fighting against a dictator," Meth began, "We take control of his oppressive radio broadcasts and play music to fight the regime."

"Pretty much the plot of Footloose." Nutty added.

Laughing, Robin caught the signal to wrap it up, "Okay, last question, what gear do you guys use? There have been a lot of questions asked on that.."

"Well,"Meth began, swiveling his camera to show the large amp sitting in the corner, "I use an vintage Mesa Boogie head with an older B-52 cab loaded with Celestions. For a guitar I have an knockoff Les Paul made by Memphis. The combination gives it that '80s sound."

"I've got an Wildfire five string bass that I run through an Egnater cab," Flippy replied, likewise moving his.

"I have an older Pearl set with Zildjian symbols and PDP heads." Nutty added, wishing he could show his set.

"Impressive!" Robin added when they were finished, "Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. I'll be sure to come see you guys this weekend, what time is the show again?"

"Thanks for having us," said Flippy while Nutty gave the thumbs up sign.

Meth raised his can and nodded to the camera, "Shalom,"

[][][]

"I think i'm gonna be sick," Crystal said as she turned off the TV and crossed her arms.

"Yeah," Patema agreed, "I didn't need to see that."

"Not that," Crystal added with a sigh, "The management thing."

"Oh," said the brown wolf, "That's pretty funny. They actually think you're gonna help them!"

Crystal glared at Patema and crossed the room to where her guitar was leaning against the wall.

"Hey, we're going to The Doors," Sandy yelled from across the room, "You going?"

Crystal shook her head and began packing up her guitar.

"It's hard for us to feel like a family if you remain so distant," added Sandy with a snicker.

Crystal growled, "I didn't ask to be here,"

Tonya took the side of her brethren, "So you're telling me you're happy sitting to the side, making is life slightly more bearable a day at a time, too afraid to say anything?"

Crystal finished zipping up her guitar bag, only to hear a loud pinging sound grouped with the pop of splitting wood. She unzipped the bag to find her guitar was cracked down the middle. Also, all the strings had snapped along with the tremolo springs.

Turning around, she saw Sandy grinning evilly, her eyes glowing an iridescent yellow.

Crystal gritted her teeth and waved her hands at the blue wolf, causing her to slam backwards against the wall. She was up in a second and disappeared as quick. Crystal readied her stance and glanced around the room.

Suddenly, she felt a tight grip close around her neck, raising her into the air. She began flailing as her eyes returned to their normal color, forsaking their glowing white.

"That's enough," Patema said calmly.

Looking to the brown wolf, Sandy released the white bear and her eyes likewise returned to normal, "Whatever, let's go."

As the group left the room, Crystal forced herself to a sitting position as she slowly began to regain her breath.

[[]]

Okay, what's happening is the chapter ended up being longer than I planned, so i'm gonna split it into two parts.

They will be uploaded at the same time, so right after you finish reading this you can move on to the concert.

Thanks for reading!


	6. The Show Must Go On

Okay, here is the conclusion of last chapter.

Once again, the folk song it not infringing copyright. It belongs to everyone, and is not Metallica's version.

R.I.P – Dimebag Darrell - August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004

All my fellow guitarists should know who he is.

┏(・o･)┛ ┗ ( ･o･) ┓ ┏ ( ) ┛ ┗ (･o･ ) ┓ ┏(･o･)┛

"That was pretty cool," Meth said as him, Meth, and Nutty sat in their usual corner booth at The Doors diner.

"My stupid camera didn't work!" Nutty replied with a sigh.

Meth shook his head, "Mixture between Slayer and Seal."

"The animal, not the singer," Flippy added, threatening to burst out in a fit of laughter.

"That was pretty funny," Meth chuckled, "What do you think about Crystal being our manager?"

Nutty shrugged, "She did get us an interview,"

"I got mixed feelings about," Meth started, but waited for a response before continuing.

"How you guys doing?" asked the waitress as she stopped at their table.

Meth turned on his charm, "Obviously not as good as you. It must be terrible dealing with all these customers,"

Looking around at the empty room, the waitress replied with an amused smile, "Ha, ha. Just the usual?"

Looking to Nutty and Flippy who nodded in reply.

"Okay then," answered the blue and black raccoon as she walked away.

"How do you do that?" Flippy asked, struggling to hide his blushing face.

Meth shrugged, "It is Shifty's sister, we knew her since kindergarten."

"Still, I always choke up with her around."

Meth leaned back in his area of the booth, "A man with nothing to lose is a dangerous thing,"

"Here you are gentlemen, and Meth." said the raccoon as she set down two coffees and a can of human.

"Ha, ha. You should turn in your two weeks notice and become a comedian," Meth added as he snapped open the black can and took a large gulp before temporarily satisfying his thirst.

"Then who'll whisk you away to whore island?"

Meth continued staring blankly.

"What?"

Meth blinked and refocused on Mindy, "Sorry, I was picturing whore island,"

Shaking her head, she sighed, "Do you need anything else?"

Meth looked across the table to where Nutty and Flippy pretended to take interest in their drinks, "I guess not."

After waiting until Mindy walked away, Meth raised his arms and questioned his silent friends, "What was that?"

Flippy and Nutty pretended to just notice he was talking to them, "What?"

Meth shook his head and took a large drink from his can.

"You keep drinking that stuff, you'll turn into an human," said Nutty, having finished adding his twenty ninth pack of sugar to his coffee.

"Maybe I should try eating the ingredients separately," Meth replied while staring intently at the ingredients.

Hearing the clink of of coffee glasses, Meth looked up to see the shocked faces of his friends.

"What is it?"

"The vixens!"

"Who?" Meth asked while turning to see the doorway.

"The Vixens!" Flippy whispered loudly.

Meth saw three female wolves wearing sunglasses standing by the door, one gray, one brown, one blue.

"Never heard of them,"

[][][]

"Just sit wherever," came Mindy's voice from the other side of the room.

Shrugging, the wolves began walking as they scanned the room for a suitable table.

"They used to be big," Nutty replied, his eyes glued on the group who had stopped to talk to each other, "But there was too much arguing inside the band, so they split."

"Where should we sit?" asked Patema as she glanced around the empty diner.

"Hey, aren't those the guys from the show?" Sandy asked, nudging Tonya.

Tonya nodded, "I think so."

"How mad would Crystal be if we told her we sat with them?"

Grinning wickedly, they approached the three who were sitting at the table, Patema following.

"Mind if we join you?" sandy asked as she removed her glasses.

The three looked between each other, "No, by all means."

"I'm Patema," She began, "and this is-"

Nutty cut her off, almost immediately, "Sandy Silversun and Tammy Harbinger, former members of The Vixens."

"More like current," Tonya informed, "We're getting back together."

"I used to listen to you all the time! You were like a mix between Lacuna Coil and Metric!" Flippy added happily.

"Aww," Sandy answered, "From what we've been hearing, you guys have made quite a name for yourselves."

Flippy shrugged, "Just trying to keep up,"

"Do you mind?" asked Patema, holding up her pack of cigarettes.

Meth shook his head, "Go ahead,"

Flicking her lighter, she took a long drag while she reached over to grab the ashtray, "Filthy habit, I know, but that's why i'm not a singer."

"You guys said something about finding a manager?" asked Patema.

"Yeah, who is it?" Tonya asked as she lit a cigarette of her own, "God knows we've used nearly every manager around here."

After a polite laugh, Meth downed the rest of his drink, "Name's Crystal,"

Nutty remarked what Flippy and Meth had just noticed, "That's really all we know about her,"

"Never heard of her," Patema replied.

After three hours, a bunch of laughs, and countless drinks, Meth checked his watch, "It's about that time."

"Curfew?" asked Sandy from her new spot next to Meth on what was deemed the non-smoking side of the table.

Shaking his head he stretched and leaned forward, "Na, just really tired."

"All right Nutty, you ready?" Flippy asked with a yawn.

Nutty nodded, "I guess,"

Meth, Flippy, and Nutty placed their fist on the table and prepared for a hand of rock paper scissors.

"Alright on three," Flippy said while the rest of the group watched in silence.

"Three!" he yelled and they all displayed their choice.

Meth's paper was beaten by Nutty and Flippy's scissors. Meth sighed heavily as Nutty and Flippy began cheering.

"What does that mean?" Tonya asked confusedly.

Flippy replied with a grin, "Loser pays."

Meth laughed as he left to go pay, "I'll get you next time,"

"See you around," said Flippy and Nutty as they followed the returning Meth out of the diner.

"Nice meeting ya," Sandy replied with a wave.

After they left, the group stood to do the same, all with confused faces.

"They were really nice," Sandy said as they walked outside.

"Yeah," Tonya added.

"Big sister has something against them," Patema added with a shrug, "What can we do?"

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people,"

[][][**Saturday**][][][]

"A little more," Flippy yelled to Crystal as the sound from his bass echoed around the large room.

"Try it now," Crystal yelled back.

Flippy plucked the strings and listened as a deeper note echoed through the room.

When the note ended, he played a complicated riff and nodded, "That's good."

"Alright," Crystal said as she wrote down the settings and moved to the next sound board, "Meth, you're up."

Meth hopped over the fence of the large circle that acted as the stage and plugged in his guitar. After checking the tuning, he turned on his amp and kicked his effects pedal to where he would be playing.

"Bass eight, middle five, high ten, gain all the way up." he yelled as he waited for the signal.

After making the adjustments, Crystal gave a thumbs up.

Meth strummed a power chord and waited a couple seconds before muting the top strings and strumming triple zero's.

"Not crunchy enough, drop the middle to two."

Meth continued strumming to hear the change in resonance. It became less duller, but sounded weak.

"Alright," Meth yelled as he flipped off his amp and hopped over the fence.

Slipping off his guitar he walked to a nearby table and removed a small multi-tool. Opening to the pointed needle, he began tapping the magnets in the pickup.

"What's up?" Crystal asked as she walked toward the table.

Meth shook his head, "Something fried my pickups. Only one magnet's working in the bridge, and five in the neck,"

"Can you fix it?" asked Flippy as he arrived at the table.

"I don't know. I'd have to replace to be sure," he said with a sigh.

"Wait a minute," Crystal said as she ran back to the sound-stage.

Meth and Flippy looked at each other and shrugged. Crystal came running back with two square objects in her hand.

"Will these work?" she asked holding up two almost new pickups.

"My hero!" Meth yelled as he inspected them closely, "An EMG and a Dimebucker! I used to have the same setup in my old guitar."

"Which one?" Crystal asked, already knowing her recently deceased guitar in fact used to belong to him.

"It was an red quilted top Schecter," Meth said as he began removing the strings to install the pickups, "If I knew then what I know now, I'd have kept it. I didn't know how to use the Floyd at the time."

"Why don't you go give Nutty a hand," Flippy said while slinging his bass off his shoulders.

"Alright," Crystal said she walked toward the circular inclosure, "Nolan, hurry it up!"

"Hey!" Nutty yelled.

"Amazing," Meth said as he removed the old pickups and began connecting the wires to the new ones, "She seems like the perfect manager."

"I'm not so sure," Flippy said watching closely to how she was setting up the drums.

"She's helped a lot since we took her on," Meth said with adoration.

Flippy shrugged, "Between you and me, everything seems a little funny."

"Like?"

"It's as if she knew your guitar would be messed up,"

Meth held up the old pickup before placing it in his backpack, "These things are over forty years old, they were bound to mess up at some point."

"Second, what's she getting out of all of this?" Flippy said turning to face Meth, "Isn't it a little weird how she managed to get us an interview that quick?"

Meth shrugged, "Sounds like something a good manager would do."

"I don't know," Flippy said while shaking his head, "I'm gonna be keeping an eye on her."

"Me too," Meth said with a grin.

Flippy chuckled, "Keep it in your pants,"

[][**Ten Minutes to Showtime**][]

The place was packed. All the regulars of the place sat at the bar ordering drink after drink, the concert being a minor nuisance. Everyone else, however, was crowded against the fence of the raised, circular stage. Everyone under the age of twenty-one, including the band, had to wear black wristbands telling the bartender they couldn't drink.

The guys were standing in the back of the room, watching the crowd and finishing their drinks before the show.

"Man, look how crowded the place is!" Nutty shouted over the collective voice of the talking audience, "I think we single handedly made you rich!"

"Ha, ha," Flippy replied while setting down his drink.

Meth chugged his can of Human and tossed the can in the garbage, "Is anyone else nervous? I feel nervous..."

"That's because you ingested enough caffeine to kill Nutty!" Flippy said as he pointed to Nutty who was swallowing his third bag of sugar.

"Are you all right?" Nutty asked.

Meth wiped his mouth and saw a smear of blood across his hand, "Yeah, i'm fine. I'm gonna go to the bathroom before we start."

Meth began walking along the edge of the room in the direction of the bathrooms when someone stepped in front of him.

In the dim light of this side of the room, he couldn't tell who it was, but only recognized the voice.

"Hello," said Nanette as she stopped beside him.

Meth blinked and tried to remain standing, "Oh, what's up?"

"I... I just wanted to say good luck."

Meth blinked, "Thanks, that means a lot."

"Maybe if it wouldn't be too much to ask, we could talk later?"

"I'll have to see what i've got going on." Meth answered with a rushed voice.

"OK, have a great show." Nanette said while walking back to her table.

Meth shivered at the awkwardness of the confrontation then hurried to the restroom.

"So, how'd it go?" Giggles asked as Nanette returned to her seat.

"It wasn't a no," said Nanette with a sigh.

"There'll be other chances," answered Petunia after setting down her drink.

"Yeah," Nanette said while reaching for her own.

Right before she grasped it, however, it seemed to jump of the edge of the table, spilling it's contents on her.

With a sigh she looked at the stain that already began to appear on her dress, "Great."

[][][]

Meth stood looking into the mirror. After vomiting twice and overcoming a case of the dry heaves, he regained the ability to stand straight. The person in the mirror looked tired, and stood panting. Typical reflection of himself.

However, the image distorted into a wicked, grinning representation of him. Meth blinked and waited for the image to do the same.

"_Hello there," _was it's reply.

"I need to stop drinking that stuff," Meth said as he turned to leave.

"_Where are you going? Did I say we were finished?"_

Meth turned back to the mirror where the voice had come from.

"_That's better,"_

"Who are you?"

"_We don't have enough time, what I need you to do is listen,"_

Meth nodded slowly.

"_Remember when your guitar quit working? That was an attempt at sabotaging your show."_

"Really? Do you know who did it?"

The figure frowned slightly, _"I don't know their names, but you must be on the lookout for anything else out of the ordinary. They will strike again during the show."_

"What do I do?"

"That friend of yours, he is like you. Follow his lead."

[][][]

'Who does she think she is?' Crystal thought as she watched some girl start talking to Meth.

She waited until she was back at her seat before retaliating. Her eyes flashed white and she began focusing on the table. As if it jumped, the glass spilled, much to her delight, she nearly burst out in laughter as the girl passed her to go to the restroom.

"Not bad," a voice next to her said.

"What are you doing here, Sandy?"

The blue wolf stood leaning against the wall, "Big sis asked me to hang around in case you decided to do something crazy, like let them have a good concert."

Crystal said nothing, but stared intently at the stage.

"Oh yeah, we happened to run into them at the diner last night, I have no idea what you see in him." Sandy began.

Crystal turned around to reply, but she was already gone, and the band was giving the signal to start.

[][][]

The lights turned off and the crowd began screaming. When they turned back on, the band was standing in the middle of the large circle.

"Good evening everybody!" Meth said into the microphone.

A loud roar of applause was launched towards the stage. Meth stepped on his pedal twice, changing to a setting with little distortion.

"We're gonna kick this off with an old Irish drinking songs, so raise your glasses and we'll get started."

The audience clapped and raised their glasses as Meth strummed a few chords and stepped toward the microphone.

"As I was a goin' over the far famed Kerry mountains, I met with Captain Farrell and his money he was counting. I first produced me pistol and I then produced me rapier, saying 'Stand and deliver' for he were a bold deceiver. " 

At this point Flippy and Nutty joined in as they sang the chorus, "Musha ring dumma do dumma da, whack for the daddy 'ol, whack for the daddy 'ol,"

Meth stepped back to the microphone, "There's whiskey in the jar. I counted out his money and it made a pretty penny. I put it in my pocket and I took it home to Jenny. She sighed and she swore, never would she deceive me, but the devil take that woman for they never can be easy,"

Meth stepped away as Flippy and Nutty continued, "Musha ring dumma do, dumma da. Whack fall the daddy 'ol, whack fall the daddy 'ol."

"There's whiskey in the jar." Meth said as he improvised a quick solo, "I went up to my chamber, all for to take a slumber. I dreamt of gold and jewels and for sure it was no wonder. But Jenny drew me charges and she filled them up with water, then sent for captain Farrell to be ready for the slaughter,"

"Musha ring, dumma do, dumma da," they continued as Nutty slammed on the toms, "Whack for the daddy 'ol, whack for the daddy 'ol,"

"There's whiskey in the jar," Meth finished as he stepped back to the microphone, "It was early in the morning, just before I rose to travel, when in stormed a band of footmen and likewise captain Farrell. I first produced me pistol for she stolen away me rapier, but I couldn't shoot the water so a prisoner I was taken,"

"Musha ring dumma do, dumma da," Meth and Flippy said as they stepped forward and back in unison, "Whack for the daddy 'ol, whack for the daddy 'ol there's, whiskey in the jar."

Meth switched to heavy distortion and began a complex solo. His hands flew from the low E to high e strings as he co-ordinated rhythm with the furious speed of his treble strings. After a short minute of headbanging, Meth strummed the final note and set his fingers for the next string of notes but didn't strum yet.

Nutty and Flippy played the next verse without guitar while Meth sang the lyrics.

"Now there's some take delight in the carriages a rollin', and others take delight in the hurlin' and the bowlin'. Me I take delight in the juice of the barley, and courtin' pretty fair maids in the morning bright and early,"

During the last stanza, Meth picked up the power chords again and they skipped the chorus, "If anyone can aid me, it's my brother in the army. If I can find his station in Cork or in Killarney. If he'll go with me, we'll go rovin' in Kilkenny, and i'm sure he'll treat me better than me own a-sporting Jenny,"

"Musha ring dumma do, dumma da. Whack for the daddy 'ol, whack for the daddy 'ol there's, whiskey in the jar."

Meth repeated the last three chords and the song ended.

The crowd threw up their hands and began clapping. The guys waved and prepared for the next song.

"All right, this is a new song from us. It's called Forty-Ounces." said Meth as he stepped on his pedal until he was at the correct setting.

Meth gave the nod signaling to begin. Flippy began plucking the notes for several bars before Meth joined in, with a lightly distorted clean setting, picking the individual notes. This continued until Nutty joined in and Meth strummed a single note, letting them take over while he changed his tuning from standard to D.

Meth kicked the pedal and it switched to high gain while Nutty and Flippy increased their tempo. Meth strummed an open zero, then five and seven. The song picked up until it was the rhythmic metal that became standard in all their songs. Meth alternated between muting and playing open notes.

Crystal closed her eyes and felt the beat as if it was a string words thumping through the air, "DA, dudda du, dudda dudda dudda, da, DA!"

Meth repeated the first chords then switched back to the power chord stance and hit a sing five-seven combo and let it ring.

"She says my soul is blacker than her eyes,"

All three of them nodding their heads, Meth continually strummed the five-seven combo, letting the final ring.

"She doesn't know if I realize,"

this time Meth barred the first three strings at the seventh fret.

"I can't tell her, my pain. Half the time I don't know my name,"

Meth strummed an thirteen bar, then pulled off to ten, "Now she's gone and i'm alone, a stranger in my own home."

Meth stepped away from the mic while Flippy began alternate picking notes on the A string.

After catching his breath, he stepped back and began screaming screaming as he returned to the opening chords, "Forty ounces, all it takes, to calm my nerves and stop the shakes. There's only so much a man can lose, before the bottle won't cure his blues.

"Without you here to calm my ache, all that's left is my life to take,"

Meth stepped away and entered the first solo, his hand nothing more than a blur. Nutty slammed on the double pedal while alternating between snare and hi-hat.

Meth widened his stance until he was nearly sitting on the floor and began banging his head to the music.

Flippy closed his eyes and focused on keeping his inner self at bay. With every pulse of his guitar, he felt his wall slowly start to crumble.

He managed to steal a glance at Meth who was playing like a man possessed. Obviously he wasn't as skilled at keeping his demons at rest.

Meth held the final note and walked back to the microphone for the final verse, "I did my best, that much I can say, maybe you should of ran away. It'll nice and quiet in my personal hell. That's where i'm goin', come take a ride, Maybe i'll show you what's really inside."

Meth took in a deep breath as Flippy and Nutty prepared for their part.

Meth released a loud scream and sustained it for an unbelievable amount of time while Flippy and Nutty calmly sang in unison.

"Forty ounces is all it takes, to calm my nerves and stop the shakes. Only so much a man can lose, before the bottle won't cure his blues. Without you here to calm my ache, all that's left is my life to take."

Meth strummed a final chord and ended his scream of rage. As the note died down, the bass and drums returned to their calming melody from the intro. The drops stopped, leaving only the bass.

"A forty caliber is all it'll take to see the end," Meth began in a quiet voice, "for the bottle is no longer my friend."

Meth slammed his hand on the neck of his guitar resulting in a sound resembling an gunshot.

The crowd went insane, erupting in yelling and cheers. Some were even wiping tears from their eyes. Meth wiped his mouth and once again found himself bleeding. No surprise, figuring he just screamed loud enough to wake the dead.

Several of the fans tried to climb over the fence, but found themselves tumble backwards as if something was pushing them. Meth looked to Flippy who only shook his head, pointing out his eyes were normal. Meth took a moment to look around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Meth pointed at Flippy who prepared for the interlude, "Give it up for Flippy on Bass!"

Flippy waved for a moment as Meth began the opening chords for master of puppets. However, the the power went out, leaving only the bass and drums going.

'What the hell?' Meth asked himself and he jiggled the connection on his guitar. Flippy's eyes had turn green, and the lights above him remained lit, making the audience think it was a part of the show.

As he looked out into the clapping audience while Flippy played the guitar parts on bass, he noticed two sets of orbs amongst the darkness.

One blue, and one white.

┏(・o･)┛ ┗ ( ･o･) ┓ ┏ ( ) ┛ ┗ (･o･ ) ┓ ┏(･o･)┛

OMG THAT WAS LONG!

My internet quit working so I had extra time to work on it.

Thanks for reading, I am working on tabs for "Forty Ounces" as well as the song I used in the first chapter.

I will begin the next chapter after I catch up on everything.

Whiskey in the jar, © Everyone.

Forty Ounces © Me


	7. He Shall Reign In Blood

Alright, next chapter! Major plot twists! Well, maybe not twists, but definitely some rising action...

Anyway, here it is!

\m/ ┏(・o･)┛ ┗ ( ･o･) ┓ ┏ ( ) ┛ ┗ (･o･ ) ┓ ┏(･o･)┛ \m/

Flippy was the first to see what was happening. First, the blue orbs appeared, then shortly after the massive power failure, the white flashed into life.

Flippy snapped his eyes closed and focused intently on using his power to maintain the flow of electricity into his amp. Meth was on his own for now. The audience was clueless, they believed it was a bass break while the guitarist took a moment to organize himself.

_'We have trouble,'_ the gruff voice said.

It took all of Flippy's concentration to keep his amp running while playing at the same time. If Evil wanted out, he'd find no resistance.

_'There's another demon attacking, it's why the power got cut,'_

_'The... orbs,'_ Flippy managed, missing a note but recover by improvising a chord.

_'Got it,'_ was the reply.

Evil left the dark realm of Flippy's mind and entered the unknown territory of the attackers.

Dropping from the sky, he landed on soft, white terrain surrounded by vast outcropping of rocks and trees. After a quick survey of the area, he noticed the top of a spire in the distance, most of which was obscured by a raging snowstorm.

Finding no other option, he began sprinting in the direction of the only landmark in the whole region.

[][][]

'Let me out!' yelled the voice with a burning hatred.

Meth raised one hand to his aching temple and placed the other on the top of his amp to brace himself. His vision began to pulse, changing from clear to blurry.

Flippy managed a glance at his distressed comrade, and cranked his volume to a deafening eight.

'Just hold on,' he thought, 'First time's always the hardest.'

Meth began coughing, sending splatters of blood over his guitar. Meth looked to his hand and could only able to distinct the outline.

Suddenly, everything turned red and he felt himself fall out of existence. He snapped his eyes shut and braced for the impact that would never come.

[][][]

Evil kicked open the large steel door while instinctively drawing his blade. The interior of the spire was lit by an uncountable number of raging candle. The walls were ornately covered with bright red tapestries that appeared soft to the touch.

After the arduous trek through the colorless snowstorm, the room was almost unbearable to look at. The room was nearly empty, save for the large, gilded staircase that led to the second level where he could see the top of a gargantuan stained glass window.

Cautiously, he approached the staircase and started upward in a crouch. Reaching the apex, he paused to slowly look at what lied ahead. The stained glass window was now in full view, and furrowed his brow in confusion at what he saw.

Re-created in the glass was what appeared to be a knight holding a guitar over his head. The face of said knight was the face of his host's guitarist, Meth.

Looking down from the window, there stood a large altar with a white bear standing with crossed arms. If she detected his presence, she showed no sign of caring.

Quietly, he held his blade in front of him and slowly began forward, aware that any noise no matter how quiet would echo among the mostly empty walls. Reaching the top of the three steps leading to the altar, he loses balance and drops his foot heavily. The echo causes the woman to turn and blink quickly.

"What are you do-" she began but was cut short.

Evil rush forward and positioned his right leg behind hers and pushed forward, causing her to stumble backward. Groaning from her new spot on the floor, she began to pull herself to her feet but met opposition.

Evil straddled the woman and placed the edge of his knife against her throat.

"Who are you, and why shouldn't I kill you?" he yelled, slowly applying pressure to the blade.

The woman coughed and struggled to reply, "I'm Crystal... your host's... manager!"

"Then why are you sabotaging him?"

The pressure increased, causing her to gasp as small drops of blood began to appear on the knife. Evil slowly released his hold enough for her to answer.

"You... don't understand!"

"Then fill me in," he replied with a growl.

"I'm... not... the one attacking! I'm just like Flippy, I get pushed inside while it takes over. The attack was by the other one."

"Who?" Evil snarled, but the world began to grow hazy.

[][][]

Meth instantly found himself looking at the bright expanse of red sky and stained ground that stretched toward the far distant horizon.

Meth trembled from the fear that swelled deep inside of him. He tasted the all to familiar salty yet metallic taste of blood, and heard the roaring of machinery and and faint crackle of gunshots. He was content to stand in his place of momentary safety, but was compelled toward the distant sounds of death and destruction.

After traveling for what seemed like an eternity, the visage of a half destroyed city came into view.

"Must be Detroit," he said to himself and chuckled out of nervous anguish instead of humor.

He walked to the nearest road and followed it into the city. On either side of the street were dilapidated building which appeared to be the source of the battling.

From around a corner, a car slid into view and came careening toward him. The was the same exact one that sat destroyed in his garage back home. The engine roared as it screamed toward him, but worst of all, he was unable to move.

A few bursts of gunshots erupted from the building on the left and found their mark on the left tire of the vehicle causing it to fishtail and roll onto it's side, passing within an inch of the stunned bear.

"Hold!" yelled a voice from somewhere.

Figure after figure began to file out of the building, all carrying rifles or an edged weapon of some sort, and filled the street in front of Meth.

"How's it going, sir?"

Meth looked to the bear and noticed the resemblance between all of them. They all looked like himself, but were dressed in camouflage.

Looking over the crowd, he saw a few were reloading their weapons, and others were working to cover the bullet holes and lacerated skin that nearly all had.

"Wha-" Meth began when a loud roar filled the air behind him.

"Well, back to work." said a bear near the front of the cluster, and the whole group began marching into the city.

Meth fell to his knees, trembling too much to remain standing.

[][][]

"Just a little longer," Crystal said quietly while her demon worked to repel the attack of Sandy.

Meth appeared to be struggling, but eventually returned to his feet. Flippy strummed a chord and held it while the crowd began to applaud.

Crystal felt as if someone punched her in the face and fell back into her chair clutching her pounding head.

Losing her focus, she was unable to keep Sandy's attack from being fully unleashed. Flippy was instantly overpowered, losing the ability to power his gear.

The lights snapped off as the crowd groaned. In the darkness it was hard to tell, but Crystal saw Meth climb to his feet and thrust his arm in the air, holding up a set of devil horns with his hand.

The power snapped on as a large burst of pressure, affecting only Sandy and Crystal, sent them backwards into the concrete block wall.

Sandy's eyes returned to normal as Crystal's had done, and they both groaned from the force of the impact.

The crowd replied with a roar as the lights over the stage returned, this time a deep red. Meth continued holding his devil horns while Flippy checked if his amp regained power. Meth, with his free hand, began a series of hammer-on's and pull-off's.

Flippy knew what was coming and gave the signal to Nutty who began adjusting his symbols.

Holding the last note, Meth gave a quick nod as he prepared the ambient notes to be played behind the drums.

Flippy began a riff to equal the drums as they built to the crescendo of the song.

Meth muted his strings and began raining blood.

Sandy struggled to a sitting position and managed a glance over to where Crystal remained sprawled on the ground with a dazed look on her face.

Sandy coughed as the deep notes of the violent intro echoed through her head.

"Big sister is not gonna be happy about this,"

\m/ ┏(・o･)┛ ┗ ( ･o･) ┓ ┏ ( ) ┛ ┗ (･o･ ) ┓ ┏(･o･)┛ \m/

Sorry it's not very long. I fell behind on a lot of other stories and wanted to upload something for this. I will probably begin the next chapter after I finish Dead of night.

Anyway we found about more about the inner feelings of Crystal, and how frail Meth is psychologically.

Thanks for reading!


	8. The Artist In The Ambulance PT1

Next chapter.

\m/ ┏(・o･)┛ ┗ ( ･o･) ┓ ┏ ( ) ┛ ┗ (･o･ ) ┓ ┏(･o･)┛ \m/

In what seemed like a second, it was all over.

Flippy had his arms raised in the air, grinning at the screaming applause. His bass was still ringing with the final note of the song they had just finished.

Nutty had knocked his drum set over, and was currently posing like a bodybuilder.

Meth blinked. It was all he could think of doing. After what seemed like an eternity, his journey in the hell he had created was over. Panic rushed over him and he found it impossible to stand still. He unplugged his guitar, causing his amp to emit a low feedback.

Without stopping to turn it off, he slung his guitar to the ground, ignoring the loud crack of splintering wood and light ping of a snapped string.

Trembling, he climbed over the fence only to end up falling half way over. He stumbled forward, making his way to the door leading to the alley behind the bar.

Nutty looks over and notices Meth's absence as the lights kick on and the exhausted crowd began their exit.

"Where's Meth?" Nutty asked Flippy who had shut off both his and Meth's amps.

Stooping to look at the broken guitar, Flippy shook his head, "I don't know, he just left."

"Let's go find him,"

Flippy and Nutty leaped the fence and rushed to the exit. Looking down the alley, they noticed Meth walking with his arms crossed.

Flippy rushed forward to catch up and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, what's-"

The second Flippy's hand made contact, a sharp pain resembling a burn shocked his arm.

Recoiling, Flippy began flexing his hand to make sure there was no damage.

"Where you going?" Nutty asked from beside Flippy.

"Home,"

"Don't you want a ride?" Flippy asked.

Meth ignored the offer and continued walking.

Flippy and Nutty shrugged and began walking back to the bar.

'You'll never guess what I figured out,' Evil's voice echoed, seemingly amused with his information.

[][][]

Crystal dropped into her chair behind the sound booth and shook her aching head. Glancing to her left, she saw the last of the stragglers leaving, but did not see Sandy. There was nothing she could do about it now, Meth's life was in danger, as well as her own.

"You,"

Crystal turned in the opposite direction and saw an angry looking Flippy standing next to a confused looking Nutty.

"Tell me what you're doing here," Flippy said with vicious intent blaring in his eyes.

Crystal smiled weakly, "So, you figured it out?"

"What are you two talking about?" Nutty asked while looking between the two of them.

"Well," Flippy began, turning toward Nutty, "Crystal here is working against us."

"That's not true," Crystal answered quietly, shifting her gaze to the floor.

"Sorry, I almost forgot. She's working _with others_ to ruin us, she isn't doing it on her own,"

"That's not true!" she yelled, the power in her voice sending them stumbling backwards while causing the lights to flicker for a moment.

"What the hell was that?" Nutty asked while lowering his arms which he used to cover his face.

Crystal stood from the chair, "I tried to stop her from doing it,"

"Stop who?" Flippy asked sternly.

Crystal began pacing frantically, "The only reason you didn't lose power was because I was powering your side of the stage,"

"Why didn't you power Meth's side?" Nutty asked.

"Didn't you see the other user?" Crystal asked while turning to face them.

"Answer!" Flippy yelled, causing her to blink.

"Sorry, I tend to ramble." Crystal said before taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

After a deep breath, she was able to answer, "I figured you knew more about what was happening than he did."

"What was happening?" Nutty asked, wanting to be included in the conversation.

"You didn't notice because your drums aren't electric," Flippy said began, "Someone was cutting the power to the stage."

"Who would do that?"

"I believe you know who it was," Crystal said while returning to her chair, "You seen them Wednesday from what I hear."

"The Vixens? Why would they mess with us?" Nutty asked.

"Not you, Meth." Crystal answered while shaking her head.

"How do you know they were after him?" Flippy asked in disbelief.

Crystal was silent for a moment, but looked away while she answered, "Because I was working with them."

"You were what?" Flippy growled, taking a step forward.

"Calm down, after tonight I'd be lucky if I wake up in the morning." Crystal started with an unamused sigh, "Tonight, you will probably hear a piercing scream. All users in the world will hear it."

"What does it mean?" Nutty asked with the same intensity of a child awaiting the next event in a ghost story.

Crystal looked away, "It means that the leader of the Vixens put a bounty on Meth."

[][][]

Meth put down the wrench and slid out from under the car. He pulled himself into an sitting position beside the haunting image of the vehicle.

After what he witnessed today, he lost control of his emotions. He went from feeling anger and hatred to fear and paranoia. Then on his walk through the cemetery, he felt nothing.

Arriving home, he felt the same. Unable to talk or respond to anything other than the car, who's twisted and mangled remains rested in front of him.

He couldn't think anymore, every time he did, his mind pushed him back to the events that left him without parents, the very same event that brought this once stunning and beautiful machine to it's knees. The prodigal Griffin, the result of countless years and tens of thousands of dollars, had become the fallen angel.

'There's so much to do,' he thought looking to the tarp that covered the bloodstained interior, 'I need to find an all new interior, not to mention body-'

Sure enough, that small thought erupted into the world he had visited only hours ago, the world of blood and death.

[][][]

Meth sat in the middle of the back seat, shirking his seatbelt to be able to sit closer to his parents.

The vehicle's interior was black leather with blue detail and white striping. In the middle of the back rest of the seats was the emblem of a horse galloping. In the driver seat was his father, expertly maneuvering the vehicle with the ease of a seasoned racer.

His mother sat in the passenger seat, a grin of sheer delight betraying the shred of fear that kept her hand gripping the arms rest on the door. Her blue fur was contrasted by the light shade of yellow her hair was dyed. He doubted she remembered her natural hair color.

His dad, however, retained the bored countenance of a prodigy. He only showed a faint smile of amusement when he felt the eyes of his family turn to him. He would allow a hand to run through his luxuriously long mane of brown hair.

After a day of disturbing the peace, he brought the vehicle back to a safe speed limit and stopped at the light they had just pulled to.

"That was fun!" the sixteen year old Meth yelled while resting his head on the top of the front bench seat.

"Put your seatbelt on," was the reply he was given by his father.

Meth sighed and snapped the strap into the buckle, tricking his father into believing he had fulfilled his request.

The vehicle idled obediently.

"Well, it's fixed. Now I can sell the damn thing," his father said while tapping the gas pedal.

"You can't sell it!" Meth yelled.

His mother turned to face her husband, "Really, there's no reason to sell it. It has plenty of room in it, the new baby will fit in the back seat."

He shook his head, "Too unsafe. The frame is beginning to rust, one accident and the car will fold in half, and there's no way the firewall will hold back an engine this size."

"Then i'll buy it," Meth said.

His mother turned to face him while his father looked in the mirror. The light changed to green but with this being the business section of the city, there was no traffic at this late hour, so he crossed his arms and sat at the empty intersection.

"I have a thousand dollars i've been saving for a guitar, would that work as a down payment?"

His father glanced sideways, "Martin, that's the last thing i'm worried about, money isn't the problem. Safety for my family is."

"I'm gonna get my license soon, and all that a thousand dollars will get me is a heap of scrap that'll quit on me somewhere," Meth began, leaning back in his seat, "At least with this car, whether it's safe or not, we know it was taken care of."

His father opened his mouth to reply, but quickly closed it and checked the road, "We'll talk about this later."

Satisfied with the still empty intersection, he threw the gearshift into first and the car began to move forward.

The piercing loud wail of a truck horn split the air as the large semi smashed into the side of the car they were only moments before arguing over. Their light had still been green, but the semi had been unable to stop for his red light.

The vehicle was pushed along by the hulking beast which veered to the side and rolled shortly after impact. His mother was pushed into his father, who's seat was the only one equipped with a full harness. His father braced himself as best he could and held onto the crinkled form that slid next to him.

As the vehicle slid along on two wheels, a bump in the road gave the inertia of the twisted car enough power to roll.

The roof crinkled in on the first turn, on the next the rear support pillars caved in under the weight the frame, and on the third and final roll, the vehicle found it's resting place on what remained of the roof.

His father coughed, sending a spray of blood onto the steering wheel.

"Are you... okay?" he asked the shaking form of his wife who was being held in place by a combination of her seat belt and the quickly fleeting strength of her husband.

"I don't know," she squeaked in reply, "I can't feel my legs... and I think my ribs are broken. Martin, can you hear me?"

What remained of the rear window was scattered on the roof of the vehicle, and through the mirror he could see the lifeless form of his son, staring blankly forward, sprawled onto the roof of the car.

His mother began screaming as a pool of blood began to form and spread to the front of the car.

The sound of shrieking rubber caught the attention of the survivors, causing them to look out the front of the vehicle. The truck had been towing a trailer which had broke loose after the accident and was currently sliding towards them at the speed of the truck. The air-brakes locked the tires, but did nothing to stop the trailer.

"No, no, no," was all she could manage before the second impact.

[][][]

Meth regained consciousness on the couch in the living room of his house. He had no idea how he got there, but realized by the wet spot under his head that he had been crying.

He pulled himself to a sitting position and stared blankly at the TV, thinking if he should turn it on or not.

That's when the screaming began.

It seemed as if the entire city had been set on fire, and the few survivors were screaming in agony. The sound seemed as if it was directly behind him, but after jumping to his feet and turning in fear, he realized the source came from within his head.

He inhaled deeply to scream, but suddenly lost the ability. He began choking and coughing as he struggled to breathe. He began to sway before he collapsed to the couch, once again staring blankly at the television.

[][][]

Flippy and Crystal stepped out of the van and into the morning sun. It had been a full day before they heard anything from Meth, and figured a check-up was in order.

"You in there?" Flippy yelled while he rapped his fist into the door several times.

Not receiving an answer and finding the door locked, Flippy picked up a rock that was laying near the door.

"Hidden key?" Crystal asked while glancing around the neighborhood.

Flippy threw the rock through the window beside the door and reached in to unlock the door.

"Not exactly," he answered.

"Was that necessary?" she asked while he worked to open the door.

Flippy tested the handle, "He'd do the same to me."

"I doubt it," Crystal mumbled as they entered the house.

"He has, actually."

"You check the garage, i'll check upstairs," Crystal said as she leaned Meth's guitar bag against the wall.

Flippy nodded and walked through the kitchen to where the door leading to the garage was left ajar. The kitchen was clean, and showed no sign of use recently. Reaching the garage, he noticed it was in a state of disarray, which was unusual, even for Meth.

The car was lifted off the ground and rested entirely on jack stands, the tires being removed for some unknown reason.

"Damn, I knew his dad wrecked it, but it's a miracle he survived it!" Flippy said to himself, this being the first time allowed into the garage. Everytime he asked, Meth replied, 'My dad doesn't let anyone in there, not even me.'

He negotiated the oil slicked floor, dodging the piles of parts and tools as he made his way to the other side.

The black paint was nearly gone, a sign that body work had been started.

"I can't even tell what kind of car it is,"

Flippy moved to lift the tarp that was covering the interior, the old roof having been cut and disposed of. After lifting the tarp high enough to see, he could only make out the shapes of the seats. Snagging a nearby flashlight, he hit the button and aimed the beam into the rear seat.

'No, Meth's not back there,' he thought as he moved the beam toward the front.

The beam flashed over the dashboard showing a large and jagged gap near the middle. Focusing the beam, he saw that the fragments of glass left in the seal from the windshield were dark. Moving the beam to the intact portions of dash as well as the front seats, he saw the entire vehicle was covered in blood.

"Whoa!" Flippy yelled as he jumped backwards, bumping into a heavy shelf that rocked slightly.

Turning to see what he landed on, he saw a battered engine. Upon further inspection, the large motor was covered in the same substance that was nearly flooding the vehicle.

He tripped as he moved away from the bench, landing on a pile of rusted metal.

"Great," He said as he began standing, "Tetanus, best way to start the day!"

"Found him!" Crystal yelled from the direction of the living room.

Flippy ran in the direction of the voice, finding her kneeling in front of the couch where an unresponsive Meth was sitting.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Looks like he's in a state of fugue." Crystal said with a sigh.

"The screaming, I heard it last night. Do you think somebody got to him?"

Crystal shook her head, "This is intentional, like an escape. Remember the first time you used your powers?"

Flippy nodded, he remembered it all too well. He stayed in his world for nearly a week before he learned enough to be satisfied with the normal world.

"Do you think we should jump in and find him?" she asked while dropping into the seat next to him.

Flippy shook his head, "Doesn't sound like a good idea. My familiar went in and he was kicked out."

"Your familiar is a jerk," she said, remembering to the events on saturday.

"As long as people are out to get him, we should stand guard or something." not arguing her point.

"I'll take care of it, I know some people."

Flippy looked at his watch and moved toward the door, "I'll go to school and get some sleep, then i'll take the next shift."

Crystal heard the van start and leave before she pulled her phone from her pocket. As she stood from the couch and moved to leave, however, Meth's hand wrapped around hers and held firmly.

Turning, Crystal expected to see a fully functional Meth, but saw he was still staring blankly at the TV.

Blushing, she fell back into her seat, "I guess I can take the first watch."

They sat in silence, his hand wrapped around hers, for nearly an hour before she worked up the courage to say anything.

"There's something I have to tell you," she said, unsure of what words to use, "Something about when we were kids."

His hand trembled, but did not let go.

\m/ ┏(・o･)┛ ┗ ( ･o･) ┓ ┏ ( ) ┛ ┗ (･o･ ) ┓ ┏(･o･)┛ \m/

What does she have to say? We'll find out next chapter!

Thanks for reading.


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